Means for automatically lighting gas.



PATENTED JULY 1O, 1906.

H. SGHIMM EL. MEANS I'OR AUTOMATICALLY LIGHTING GAS.

APPLICATION FILED DEQ.9,1897.

- To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

HERMANN'SOHIMMEL, OF CHARLOTTENBURG,-GERMANY, ASSIGNOR, BY

GERMANTOWN REAL TRUST COMPANY, TRUSTEE, OF-

MESN E ASSIGNMENTS, TO

CORPORATION OF PENN SYLVAN I ESTATE, DEPOSIT AND PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A A. v I

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY LIGHTING ens.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed December 9, 1897. Serial No. 661,296.

Beit known that I, HERMANN SGHIMMEL, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at Oharlottenburg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Automatically .Li hting Gas, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to that kind of selfigniters for gas which by their own adtion grow hot when a stream of gas passes over them and. which render a fine wire. of platinum incandescent, so that it lights the gas. In employing this kind of self-igniters it sometimes occurs that the igniting-Wire is not heated enough by the self-heating body sothat it can light the gas. This invention now consists of a preparation of the igniting-wires by which it is caused that the wires become incandescent even in those cases when the heat communicated to them is but small.

The invention takes advantage of the fact that platinum and'other substances used for preparing self-igniters grow hot by their own action even in a stream of temperature when they are in a very finely divided formnamed platinum-black or platinum-mohr.while platinum of a lessfinelydivided formnamed platinum spongeheat s itself only in a stream of warmed gas or when the platinum sponge is warmed itself. Now the platinum .in its finest formnamed platinum-black or platinum-mohrmust be produced in the pores of a porous material, as is shown by Mr. Duke in his specification No. 554,249 of the year 1896, in order to prevent it from coalescing to platinum sponge, and thus becoming unfit for lighting gas. This is the reason why it is impossible to connect the igniting-body with the igniting-wire so int'imately that the heat of theigniting-body is transmitted in every case in such a degree that the gas shall be ignited. On the other hand, there is no difficulty in producing latinum sponge on the igniting -wires t emselves, so that quite an intimate connection between the sponge and wires exists. Regarding these circumstances. it will be advan tageous, and that is the tion, to prepare the-igmting-Wires near the gas of a very low.

object of this inven-.

igniting-body Witha small knob oiy several small knobs of platinum sponge. l

Instead of platinum spon c any other substance may beemployed w ich in a stream of gas becomes hot by its own action when it is somewhat warmed. Even platinum-black ma be em loyed not only for the i nitingbo y,b1'1t al o for the small knobs on t ewire.

owever, the little portions of platinum black fixed oh the ignlting-wire would in a short timebe'coalesced'to platinum spon e, so that the effect would be the same as in t e When employing igniting-wires o this kind, the process of lgniting will be as follows: First,'.the igniting-body containing platinumblack will ow hot when a stream of gas passes over it. p The heat 'of the igniting'body will partially be transmitted to itingcase of employing platinum sponge directly.

the ign we, and the heat thus transmitted to the wire, though it is, perhaps, sometimes not sufficient to render it incandescent, will in every case warm the wire to such a degree that the small knob or knobs of platinum sponge will be preliminarily warmed and then be capable of growing hot by their own action in the stream of gas. Now the heat of these aux iliary ignition devices, which are directly fixed to the igniting- Wires, will not fail in Warming the igniting-Wires to such a degree that theybecome incandescent and light the gas. It is obvious that the auxiliary ignition devices can be very small without reducing the effect. It is only necessary that the surface of the i niting-Wires near the ignitingbody be roug ened a little by a thin layer of platinum sponge, for this thin layer of platinum sponge heats itself ina stream of gas quite in the same manner as a big knob of platinum sponge. Inhemploying" the auxiliary ignition devices accordingto. this invention the lighting of thegas would also take place the igniting-wires should not become incandescent, for platinum sponge possesses by itself the property to light a stream of gas when it is somewhat warmed,

and thus rendered capable of growing hot by its own action; Therefore the hereinbeforedescribed method of preparingtlie ignitingwires of sel-f-igniters renders it possible to make the same out of any other refractory roo byits own action.

, accompanying drawing,

furnished with material instead out of platinurnfor ex-[ ample, out of asbestos. In this case the wires or refractory threads connecting with the igniting-body are not properly ignitingdescribed and to such an extent that the ignition of the gas shall occur; very quickly after the gas is first delivered, whereas with those devices which have been heretofore wires, but only serve for holding the auxproposed to have an auxiliary or secondarilyiliary ignition devices, which latter in this case have their heat transmitted to them by radiation from the igniting-body.

In carrying out my invention I-preferably take an igniter of the well-known kind to ignite the gas-for example, the igniter of Mr. Duke, above referred to consisting ofan igniting-body containing platinum-black, having connected with it simple wire of platinurn. The igniting-wire will now be treated with a solution of a salt of platinum'or of another metal of the platinum group-say chlorid of platinum-in such a'manner that a drop or two adheres to the wire near theignitingbody. This being done, the solution adhering to the igniting-wire will be evaporated and the remaining salt of platinum reduced to platinum.

When employing chlorid of platinum, it is sufficient to heat the igniting-wire. For this purpose it is advantageous to place the igniter in a stream of gas, so that it heats itself and the chlorid of platinum is reduced to platinum only by the action of the heat. The platinum originating from the reduc- .tion of the salt of platinum has the form of platinum sponge andis fixed on the ignitingwire or refractory thread, so as to be capable of being warmed, as above described.

Inv order to clearly show the object of this;

invention, I have illustrated the same in the the figureshowing an igniter the igniting-wires of which are cordance with this invention.

In the drawing the letter 2 designates the principal igniting-body, a representsthe igniting-wires, and 1) represents the little igniting -knobs fixed upon the igniting wires. With respect to those parts, of the devices herein illustrated-namely, the relatively large knobs-orballs b and the part 2 .itwill be further seen that they can be regarded as being twoautoheating elements, one of which is capable of generating (through the action of the occluded. and the impinging gases) a relatively low heat and the other of which is capable of generating by the action of the same gases a relatively high heat, both of these bodies being of a relativelylarge di.

ameterthat is, constructed in masses of appreciable size and to be contradistinguished from thin films or minute layers on reticulated fabrics, such as have been proposed by others and which I have found to be inefficient for the purposes aimed at. When two such relatively large autoheating bodies are employed, they can be arranged so as to deliver heat from one to the other inthe way Then the fluid evaporates little igniting-knobs in ac' uting the heat that is generated by acting heater of the sort referred to considerable time necessarily elapses and much gas escapes before that part which is expected to act as an auxiliary heater has been raised in temperature sufficiently to eflect the ignition of the gas. I

My device can be readily distinguished from the old and common self-lighters, which comprised only a body of primary heating material, together with one or more hard metallic platinum wires connected to the heater, 0nd body device in merely a conductor for (the wire) is not an autoheating the sense herein intended, but carrying and distribthe primary body.

What I claim, and ters Patent, is I Y.

1. An igniting device for gas-burners consisting of the combination of a block or body adapted to become hot in a stream of gas, igniting-wires fastened to said block, and platinum sponge on said wires, and directly carried thereby independently of other support, whereby the heat conducted to said platinum-sponge by are prevented from dissipating by conduction and is caused to radiate into the said stream of gas, substantially as set forth.

2. An igniting device consisting of a selfheating block desire to secure by Letsponge, an igniter consisting of a ball-like body or knob in contradistinction from a film of platinum sponge immediately adjacent to the heating-body and a refractory support for said igniting-ball.

3; A self-igniting device for gas, containing two autoheating elements, substantially as set forth, one being a body of platinumblack in contradistinction from platinum sponge adapted to generate a relatively low heat when impinged upon by the gas, and the other being a body of platinum sponge adapted to generate a relatively high heat for in such earlier lighters the sec- I and theheat generated thereor body containing platinumblack in contradistinction from platinum when impinged upon by the same gas, both I of said bodies having relatively large diameters and adapted to other, as described.

4. A self-igniting device for gas substantially as set forth, having two autoheating bodies connected together by a heat-co n ducting wire of platinum, one being a body containing platinum-black in contradistinction to platinum sponge and adapted to generate a relatively low in a body of relatively large diameter containing platinum sponge adapted to generate a relatively high heat, and both said bodies deliver heat one to the heat, and the other be being arranged to deliver heat from one to exposed to the gas, and arefractory conneoa l the other, substantially as set forth. I tion between- Snell bodies, substantially as I O V 5. A self-igniting device for gas, consisting set" forth.

of a porous bodycontaining a preparation 5 adapted to generate a relatively high heat n SOHIMMEL' when exposed totthe gas at a moderate tem-' Witnesses: perature, another body adapted to generate L. TELL a relatively high heat only when heatedand HOEFMVALNNI; 

